In USA work is underway to develop a one-size hearing aid, which only can be used once and then has to be replaced with a new one. The hearing aid is called “Songbird” and is intended to fit the majority of hard of hearing people.

The target group for the “Songbird” is primarily those hard of hearing person, which don’t want to use a hearing aid, because they don’t have the money to buy one or think it is too complicated to use one or don’t want to use time to visit the doctor to fit a hearing aid to ones hearing loss.

The key to the “Songbird” is simplicity. You buy one and do not need to change batteries – the batteries last for approx. 40 days – when you simply throw them in the waste and buy a new one!

Maybe the “Songbird” can be used in other ways than it is intended to. Most of us have sometimes participated in activities, where we had to take our hearing aids of, because there was a risk that we would to break or loose them during the activities – e.g. if you trying white water rafting – here you could easily destroy your hearing aid, but if you just were using the “Songbirds” it wouldn’t be a disaster.

Information about the situation of the federation for hard of hearing in Austria

Thursday 1 June 2000

After the logging-off of director Hans Maier in the year 1998, a provisional board was elected, who tried to clarify the existing irregularities. The board was active until November 1999.Read more...